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High Prayer
| rarity = Very Rare | type = Combat Enchantment | combat_casting_cost = | research_cost = | effects = All friendly units on the battlefield receive the following bonuses: * ; * ; * ; * ; * . All enemy units on the battlefield receive a penalty to their Melee Attacks. }} High Prayer is a Very Rare Combat Enchantment from the Realm. For it may be cast during combat to give a lasting effect that grants no less than 5 different bonuses to all friendly units on the battlefield: , , , , and . As a result, the caster's units become significantly more deadly, and much harder to damage, hinder, or incapacitate. Effects High Prayer raises the morale of all friendly units on the battlefield, encouraging them to perform better in almost every respect. As a result, units will strike harder and more truly with their attacks, dodge incoming damage more deftly, and become very resilient in the face of curses and combat maledictions. Melee Attack Bonus While in effect, High Prayer grants a Melee Strength bonus of to each and every friendly unit on the battlefield - assuming they had any Melee Attack ability to begin with. This increases both the unit's potential and average output by a small amount. Naturally, such a bonus is more significant for , as it affects the attacks of each individual . To Hit Bonus While High Prayer is in effect, each and every friendly unit on the battlefield receives a bonus. This means that every die of their Attack Rolls is more likely to cause a point of "raw" , thus increasing their overall average Conventional Damage output. The bonus applies equally to all attacks, with the exception of those that deliver . That is, it will affect and Counter Attacks; / / Ranged Attacks; and ; and even the hidden Conventional component of Gaze Attacks. On the other hand, it does not affect Immolation, or any spells, spell-like abilities, or Spell Charges used by the unit. Example :We have a Hero with a Ranged Attack Strength of . She does not have any To Hit bonuses, which puts the success chance of her Attack Rolls at , like most other units. The maximum amount of this Hero can inflict with her Ranged Attack is , as she has 10 dice to roll, corresponding to her Attack Strength. However, on average, she will deliver only × = points of "raw" , as each those 10 dice only have a chance of being successful in scoring a hit. :With High Prayer, this Hero's score is raised to . She can still inflict a maximum of only , as her Ranged Attack Strength did not change, but on average will now deliver × = points of "raw" . Therefore, although the Hero's attack did not become stronger, on average, she will now realize more of her damage potential with each Ranged Attack she makes. :If this Hero also has a Melee Attack with the same strength, that will receive an even greater benefit, as High Prayer will also increase her Melee Strength, and thereby her Melee Damage potential. This would improve her average output from × = points to an even higher × = . Defense Bonus While in effect, High Prayer grants a Defense bonus of to each and every friendly unit on the battlefield. As a result, they will be able to use two more dice on any Defense Roll they make in an attempt to avoid incoming Conventional Damage. Coupled with the bonus below, this yields a typical average increase of in the unit's reduction from attacks against which a Defense Roll can be made. That is, nearly all Conventional Damage attacks, including Melee- and Counter Attacks, Ranged Attacks, Thrown Attacks, Breath Attacks, hidden components of Gaze Attacks, and even spells - but excluding Doom Damage attacks and, in most cases, Illusion Damage attacks. To Block Bonus While High Prayer is in effect, all friendly units on the battlefield get a +10% chance of success for each die of every Defense Roll they make to reduce incoming Conventional Damage. Essentially, this raises the chance that each will manage to block a point of "raw" . Therefore, the unit is likely to block more on average. Naturally, this does not apply against attacks which do not allow a Defense Roll in the first place, but the benefit is otherwise proportionate to the unit's attribute. Example :We have a Hero with a Defense score of . Like all units without the Lucky trait, her chance is the default . Whenever this Hero is hit with a Conventional Damage attack that allows a Defense Roll, she can use 5 dice (equal to her ), each of which has a chance to reduce the incoming "raw" by point. The average reduction will thus be × = . :With High Prayer, the success chance of each die is raised to . However, in addition to that, the Hero's also receives a boost of . As such, even without the increase in success chance, her reduction potential would go from to , yielding an average reduction of × = points. When paired with the increased success chance, High Prayer will allow this Hero to block, on average, × = points from Conventional Damage attacks directed at her. Resistance Bonus While High Prayer is in effect, each and every friendly unit on the battlefield receives a Resistance bonus of . In other words, their chance to shrug off malicious effects is increased by +30%. As a result, they will be significantly harder to affect with Unit Curses, and will stand up much better against Special Damage attacks like poison or petrification. Enemy Melee To Hit Malus While High Prayer is in effect, each and every enemy unit on the battlefield receives a malus to their Melee Attacks. That is, every time they perform such an attack against a unit affected by High Prayer, including during Counter Attacks, the success chance of each die of their Attack Roll is reduced by . While this does not affect their potential , it does decrease their average "raw" Melee Damage output by an amount proportionate to their Melee Strength. Other Attack Types are not affected. It should be noted that this effect is removed from the game starting with the unofficial Insecticide patch. Examination of the game code has led multiple patch-makers to the conclusion that this is actually not an intentional benefit. It is most likely left over from an earlier stage of the game development, where Melee Attacks were handled differently from other Conventional Damage types (hence why the effect only triggers for Melee Damage). High Prayer vs. Prayer High Prayer is essentially a "souped-up" version of the spell, adding all of its bonuses along with another set: , , and . However, the identical effects are not cumulative. Therefore, if a Wizard has both spells active during combat, only High Prayer will have any effect so long as it is still in play. If High Prayer is dispelled in such a situation, but remains in effect for whatever reason, friendly units get to keep their and bonuses, and a Resistance bonus of only . The rest of the bonuses will be lost. Usage High Prayer may only be cast during combat, for a basic Casting Cost of . If the casting is successful, the spell's icon will appear in one of the enchantment windows at the bottom of the screen, underneath the name of the Wizard whose side has cast the spell (left or right depending on whether it is cast by the defending or attacking force). High Prayer will then start exerting its effect immediately, and remains active until the end of the battle, or until it is dispelled. Since it does not carry over to the overland map, the spell has no Upkeep Cost. Acquisition As a Very Rare Spell of the Realm, High Prayer may become available to any Wizard who acquires at least Spellbooks. With any less, the spell can normally not be learned during the campaign. This is the minimum requirement for it to be traded for, appear in Treasure, or be found in the spoils of victory when conquering the Fortress of a rival Wizard who already knows it. The base chance for High Prayer to be researchable (at some point) in the campaign is roughly 10% (with books), which gradually increases with the amount of Spellbooks possessed or found during gameplay. With or more, the spell is certain to show up sooner or later, unless acquired from another source. It has a Research Cost of , although its research is quicker for Wizards possessing the Sage Master Retort, or a bookshelf containing or more. High Prayer may not be acquired at the start of the game, regardless of the amount of books selected from the starting picks. It must always be either researched or found. However, a bug exists in the official game, that may occasionally allow High Prayer to be researched with only books despite its Rarity. This can happen if, and only if, the second Spellbook comes from Treasure, as it then allows a random Very Rare Spell to be researched, which has a flat 10% chance of being this spell. This oversight is corrected in the Unofficial Patch 1.50. Strategy High Prayer is the strongest army-enhancement spell in the game. In addition to providing the same , , and bonuses as the spell, it also improves , , and boosts even further. This makes it an extremely useful spell to cast during a large battle, where it can instantly make an entire army much more powerful. Even the weakest affected units will be significantly harder to destroy, and a much greater threat to the enemy. At the same time though, High Prayer costs exactly twice as much as , and is not cumulative with it in any way. Therefore, High Prayer is not necessarily a good spell to cast in every situation - most notably, when the available or Spell Casting Skill is limited, when the "army" only consists of one or two units, or when the majority of it is not expected to make use of the extra benefits, then using other spells, including the afore mentioned , may be much more cost-effective. Naturally though, if is abundant, High Prayer can make virtually any battle easier. Category:Combat Enchantments Category:Life